I think that my work which I completed in the style of Alfred Stieglitz is a successful way of showing his influence within my work when I photographed and edited these cloud formations because similar to his I have a part of the photo where the sunshine has caught it and began to bring a large amount of light onto the clouds, which are also similar, which makes it appear brighter than the others in a fading way throughout the photo. I also like how my photo is more of a darker contrast of black/white/grey tones because it creates this impact where you are able to see clearly of how the clouds form these strange, yet effective formations whereas in Alfred Stieglitz’s work he has more of a green/grey tone to his photo which I didn’t really like and didn’t want to use in my own work. I really liked working in the style of Stieglitz because it made me consider how the weather and other factors can really determine the way the clouds are formed in different patterns and none are ever the same which makes them unique.
For these edits, which I completed in the style of Alfred Stieglitz, I experimented with different filters which are premade then edited them how I preferred similar to Stieglitz on Adobe Lightroom. I really enjoyed editing these photos because I think that it brought the photos to life and you are able to see the unique and intricate details which are hidden within the clouds as the black and white contrasts help to show these. They are able to create a different, complicated yet dark and gloomy atmosphere in each photo which I think helps to make them successful as Alfred Stieglitz says these are able to reflect somebody’s mind through the way they photograph cloud formations.
In my opinion, I think that I have successfully been able to show Stieglitz influence in my work through my most successful edit that I completed on Adobe Lightroom was the 3rd photo. I really like the way that this photo turned out through the way that I have edited it because I think that it is able to show diverse a range of black/white/grey tones which work well yet create a fluid contrast between them as they look as if they are climbing up the photograph, as if the light from the bottom of the photo wants to be noticed and bring that joy and happiness to the darker and more gloomy parts at the top. I achieved this effect through selecting a present which I think was a good base to work with as it changes the photo into black and white, then I changed the whites, highlights shadows mainly as this creates a contrast between the brighter and darker parts of the photo and then I changed the contrast slightly to help this change be able to see. If I were to try this edit again, I would try to bring down the brightness slightly at the bottom to avoid it looking a bit overexposed which was created through the sunlight previously, besides that I think this is a really successful edit.
I think that my least successful edit which I completed on Adobe Lightroom was the first picture which I experimented with, this is because I think that due to the way which I edited it through choosing a pre-set called “monochrome” then further editing the exposure, contrast, white balance created a dark grey hue over the photograph, especially in the corner as you can’t see the cloud formations, which I don’t like as it stops the darker and brighter tones being able to create a fluid contrast between them which works well. If I were to do this edit again in adobe Lightroom I would make sure that I am able to make the brighter whites and darker tones stand out well and not get lost through using the highlights, whites and exposure better by bringing them up. I also don’t like how the sun ion the corner creates this random burst of brightness in the corner of the photo because it appears to be quite exposed compared to the rest of the photograph and if I were to change this again I would make sure that the sun is defined enough to an extent where the brightness doesn’t become so overexposed.
These are the photos which I have selected which I think will work well to compare and edit towards Alfred Stieglitz work because I like the way the clouds have formed and the different patterns which have been created because of this, in Adobe Lightroom I’m going to choose 4 photos to focus on and edit in detail.
Selecting my 4 best photos –
These are the 4 photos which I have decided to focus and edit in detail in the style of Alfred Stieglitz this is because I love how there is a variety of differences and similarities between each photo. There is a different pattern which is formed by the clouds in each photo and I think that this is going to create a defined use of being able to see how the sky is able to create beautiful formations while editing, there is also the use of bringing in a small piece of land in the first 2 because I think that it helps to create a feeling of depth within the photo as it can help to frame and add texture to the picture.
Porter’s work is of Great Spruce Head Island in Maine (USA), and is very vibrant and colourful, with his shadows leaning towards a dark blue over black. The image is of an island across a body of water, which has a reflection of the island’s forest. The weather is dark and foggy, creating a gloomy atmosphere. My image is of the cliffs in Jersey, with a small rocky beach towards the bottom of the image. Instead of pure black, a lot of the dark colours are close to a reddish brown, and I increased the saturation of the image to make the cliffs more vibrant as well. Like Porter’s image, there is some fog in the background and the rest of the environment is unknown.
You will be learning about photographing man-altered landscapes and The New Topographics over the next 2 weeks and will be shown inspiration, influences, background and theory…and will be taken on at least 1 x guided photo-walk.
Robert Adams
You should aim to produce 150-200 images (minimum requirement) in your own time…
Check your EXPOSURE SETTINGS according to the light and what you are photographing…
Explore these options…
St Helier
Residential areas
Housing estates
Retail Parks and shopping areas
Industrial Areas
Car Parks (underground and multi-storey too)
Leisure Centres
Building sites
Demolition sites
Built up areas
Underpass / overpass
The Waterfont
Harbours
Airport
Finance District (IFC buildings)
NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
Many urbanised areas are great to photograph at night or in low light conditions…
Remember to…
use a tripod
use slow shutter speeds (experiment with your TV Mode / Shutter speeds !
be safe…take a friend and let your parents know where you are going
Aim for…
Frank Golhke
Bernd and Hilla Becher
Stephen Shore
Due Date = Friday 25th March
Watch…
Over the next two weeks you will be looking at producing blog posts and responding photographically to:
New Topographics
Urban Landscapes
Industrial Landscapes
Camera Skills – vantage points
The New Topographics
New Topographics was a term coined by William Jenkins in 1975 to describe a group of American photographers (such as Robert Adams and Lewis Baltz) whose pictures had a similar banal aesthetic, in that they were formal, mostly black and white prints of the urban landscape…
The beginning of the death of “The American Dream”
LEWIS BALTZ
Many of the photographers associated with The New Topographics including Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Nicholas Nixon and Bernd and Hiller Becher, were inspired by the man-made…selecting subject matter that was matter-of-fact.
New Topographics inspired by the likes of Albert Renger Patszch and the notion of The New Objectivity
Parking lots, suburban housing and warehouses were all depicted with a beautiful stark austerity, almost in the way early photographers documented the natural landscape. An exhibition at the International Museum of Photography in Rochester, New York featuring these photographers also revealed the growing unease about how the natural landscape was being eroded by industrial development.
Look at how the New Topographics approach has inspired landscape photography and the way we document our surroundings / the way we are using and transforming the land.
ROADS / BUILDINGS / STREETS / ST HELIER / FLATS / CAR PARKS / OFFICE BLOCKS / PLAYING FIELDS / SCHOOL / SHOPS / SUPERMARKETS / BUILDING SITES / TRAFFIC / HOTELS
Where to shoot ?
ORDANCE YARD / ST AUBINS HIGH STREET / COBBLED BACK STREETS / OLD ST HELIER / NEW ST HELIER / FLATS / ESPLANADE / TOWN / CAR PARKS / FORT REGENT / FINANCE DISTRICT / UNDERPASS / TUNNEL / NIGHT TIME / PIER ROAD CAR PARK / HUE COURT / LE MARAIS FLATS / PLAYING FIELDS / SCHOOLS / ANN STREET BREWERY BUILDING SITE / SPRINGFIELD STADIUM
TASK ONE
Research and explore The New Topographics and how photographers have responded to man’s impact on the land, and how they found a sense of beauty in the banal ugliness of functional land use…
Create a blog post that defines and explains The New Topographics and the key features and artists of the movement.
ANSWER : What was the new topographics a reaction to?
TASK TWO
A case study on your chosen NEW TOPOGRAPHIC landscape photographer. Choose from…ROBERT ADAMS, STEPHEN SHORE, JOE DEAL, FRANK GOLKHE, NICHOLAS NIXON, LEWIS BALTZ, THE BECHERS, HENRY WESSEL JR, JOHN SCHOTT ETC to write up a case study that will inspire your own photography.
Produce a list of places in Jersey you could go and shoot urban landscapes.Create a blog post of a visual mood board and photo shoot plan. Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins, car parks, underpass, harbours and dockyards, industrial centres, retail park, Stadiums, floodlight arenas, staircases, road systems, Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas, Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, etc.
Possible titles to inspire you and choose from… Dereliction / Isolation / Lonely Places / Open Spaces / Close ups / Freedom / Juxtaposition / Old and new / Erosion / Altered Landscapes / Utopia / Dystopia / Wastelands / Barren / Skyscapes / Urban Decay / Former Glories / Habitats / Social Hierarchies / Entrances and Exits / Storage / Car Parks / Looking out and Looking in / Territory / Domain / Concealed and Revealed
TASK FOUR
Firstphotoshoot inspired and influenced by your first chosen urban landscape photographer. (+100 photographs). Can be any urban landscape photographer, but remember to include a brief case study and examples of their work that have influenced your work.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
Realise a final outcome.
TASK FIVE
Secondphotoshoot inspired and influenced by your second chosen urban landscape photographer. see list below URBAN PHOTOGRAPHERS (+100 photographs). Can be any urban landscape photographer, but remember to include a brief case study and examples of their work that have influenced your work. Ensure you experiment with different vantage points eg: worms eye view etc.
Select, consider and decide on best images (show contact sheets)
Develop ideas through digital manipulation (ie: cropping, contrast, colour balance etc.)
Realise a final outcome.
TASK SIX
Select one of your photographs to compare and contrast against one photograph of your chosen photographer.
Create a venn diagram to illustratethe similarities and differences between the images.
The Enlightenment was a philosophical and intellectual movement in the late 17th to 18th centuries which focused on the pursuit of knowledge through reason and science, as well as a separation from the church/religion in favour for science/reason. This lead to a steep rise in political revolutions throughout western societies. In terms of art, people began to become interested in classic Greek/Roman artworks which people used to create neo-classical art, depicted focus on classical antiquity.
Age of Romanticism (approx. 1800-1850)
Romanticism was a movement in art, music and literature in the late 18th to 19th centuries. Romanticists focused on the power and beauty of nature, as opposed to the industrial/scientific views brought about by the Age of Enlightenment. Romanticism emphasised emotion in its aesthetics, promoting emotions such as terror and awe by confronting the aesthetical category of the Sublime through its mediums.
The Sublime
Romanticists describe the sublime as the feeling of awe and terror when faced with the scale and power of nature. It’s aesthetics derive from an incalculable/unfathomable greatness in what it is depicting, while simultaneously depicting humans/the viewer as small and weak by comparison.
Moodboard of Romantic Landscape Photographs
Romanticism in Photography
Romanticism in photography focuses on nature and emotion, typically through landscapes, with the photographs evoking emotions such as awe and sometimes terror from the beauty and vastness the landscape offers. Some photographers may choose to slightly modify an image’s hue or contrast to give the image a more grandiose look, while not making the image look unrealistic.
Romanticism in Art
In art, romanticism again offers both feelings of terror and awe from the vast and beautiful landscapes it depicts, however artists have the freedom to exaggerate certain features within an artwork, such as great natural formations or powerful winds/tides, both seen typically looming over a considerably smaller human.
For my rural photography I want to incorporate different perspectives which exaggerate shadows, textures and the sizes of natural features of a landscape- a main idea I have is capturing cloudscapes. I plan to do multiple photoshoots across the island in different terrains (i.e. beaches, fields, woods etc). The week within I am doing these photoshoots has very calm weather with either cloudy days (possibly very flat lighting) and bright and sunny days (large contrasts between shadows). There will be one day that is predicted to be foggy, I hope to go to beach and try get some quite ominous images.
My mood board of potential landscapes/places I would like to photograph
In order to take these landscapes I went on a walk and made sure to capture as many landscapes as I could from a variety of angles and distances, creating variation in my work. This also allowed me to capture moments when the lighting changed slightly and moved some of the shadows around, giving me more opportunities to take interesting landscapes.
Best Shots
I went through all of my images and picked out my best shots, making sure to have a variety of angles, lighting and focal points within my images so they weren’t identical to one another and so they all looked visually interesting.
Rural landscape photography refers to “photography in the countryside” and covers the rural environment.
While rural landscapes often contain architecture – much the same as urban landscapes – rural landscape photography is more about capturing the life and elements found in the countryside. This can include humans in the landscape as well as elements of human influence.
Rural landscape photography can also encompass rural scenes including buildings, animals, and stunning countryside scenery.
Some popular targets for landscape photographers include:
For my first photoshoot, I went down to the waterfront and onto the beach (St Aubin’s) along the avenue. I decided to go around 6-6:30 so that I could take photos of the sunset.
Photoshoot 2
For my second photoshoot, I went to a reservoir in St Saviour, I decided to go around 4-5 in the afternoon. On this day the sky was more grey and very cloudy.
Photoshoot 3
For my third photoshoot, I went for a walk on some of the back roads around Jersey, I decided to go around 5:30 in the evening so that I could try and photograph golden hour.
Contact Sheets
Photoshoot 1 and 2
In my contact sheets, there are lots of repeated photos as I had to keep adjusting the ISO, shutter speed and F-number to try and get the right exposure for the type of lighting, I had gone on a grey, cloudy day so the sky kept coming out to bright in the camera.
Photoshoot 3
In these photos, I also had to make repeats as I had gone while the sun was setting so there was a glare in some of the photos due to the high exposure, but as I was walking the lighting would change due to the sun being blocked or because of me being in a more shaded place which also contributed to the number of similar photos.
Editing
These are two edits from each of my three photoshoots. In all my photos I have chosen to make the colours more vibrant and stand out which contrasts with the somewhat dull photos that they were before.
St Aubin’s beach near the waterfront
These are two of the photos that I have edited from St Aubin’s beach, in both I have increased the vibrancy so that the colours in the sky, such as the blues and oranges stand out more against the darker parts of the photo like the sand and ocean. In the photo on the left, I have only increased the contrast to make the photo darker so that you can still see the person walking forward. For the photo on the right, I have decreased the contrast so that the photo isn’t as dark as the photo to the left, I have also the texture and clarity so that the ripples in the sand can be seen more clearly and stand out with the reflection of the sunset.
A field and the back roads down to Grands Vaux Reservoir
These are two of the photos that I have edited from some of the backroads around the parish of St Saviour, in the photo on the left I have increased the contrast to darken the bushes to the side of the photo and the hills in the background. As the sky was quite bright and grey the clouds couldn’t be clearly seen in the photo, so I slightly decreased the exposure which helped the clouds become more defined in the sky which now has more of a blue tint. I did similar editing to the photo on the right, I liked the look of the darker greens against the grey of the road, but I still wanted them to be vibrant and pop so I also increased the vibrancy so that I could get this effect.
Different potato fields near Le Quesnes Garden Centre
These are also photos taken on backroads around St Saviours but I went at a different time so that I could capture the sunset and hopefully get different lighting than my other photos. In these two photos, I wanted the clouds to be defined so that you could see the key poking through at different places. I did this by decreasing both the contrast and exposure, by doing this I made the clouds darker which made them stand out against the blue of the sky. In the photo on the right and wanted the photo to have a more saturated and golden look as the sun was at the perfect place for the ‘golden hour’. I decreased the exposure and highlights as well as increased the contrast to make the image darker and give it the golden look that I wanted.
Final Photos
I have chosen these as my final images because I believe that each one shows different parts of Jersey’s beautiful landscapes. One of my favourites is the bottom right as I think that the sun is giving a really nice golden look on the few parts that it is hitting the plastic. I also think that the clouds are nicely formed in the sky and are highly defined. I really like how the lighter sky in the mid-ground contrasts with the darker trees towards the ground and the darker elements of the field. Another one of my favourites in the middle right photo as I think the defined grey clouds sit nicely against the bits o bright blue from the sky poking through. The sun also has a similar effect to the photo just beneath it, with some of the rays being able to be seen in the photo which adds another element to the photos that viewers might find interesting. I also really like the saturation of this photo which just gives it a more brighter effect. Finally, the bottom left is also a good final image as I really like the contrast between the darker tones from the trees and grass and the brighter sky and highlights on the lake. I feel that this phot covers the whole of Ansel Adams Zone system as you can see the darkest shades are in the lake or on parts of the ducks in the bottom of the photo and the lighter parts are either the sky as it was a grey and cloudy day so the sky is brighter or in the different highlights on the lake.
